Sunday, May 11, 2008

One young Hispanic man left a booth at Denver's 2008 Cinco de Mayo Festival exclaiming, "No way! I'm Jewish?" He evidently had not attended Michael Gonzales' presentation.

On one side of the booth were poster boards that displayed articles and images designed to educate spectators about the Spanish Inquisition and the violence poured out on the Sephardic Jews. On the other side of the booth was a list of 5,220 Sephardic Jewish surnames. The list contains most of the common Spanish surnames like Garcia, Rodriguez and Martinez. "However," explained Gonzales, "if your name is on the list it doesn't necessarily mean that you are Jewish. If your name is not on the list it doesn't mean you are not. Come to the presentation to find out more." [Link]